Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' (3 page)

“Oh, god!” I started running even
though I knew it was useless. I couldn’t outrun them when they were
human, much less when they were cats. Not to mention that I was
laughing too hard to do much running at all.

I stopped and turned to face them. Both
of them stopped a few feet from me and shifted back. They were
laughing, both of them breathing hard from their wrestling match.
Jasper gave Brice an unseen signal and they started to circle
around me.

The thought of being tackled and
getting buried in the snow was a very displeasing one. I laughed
and tried to keep an eye on both of them. I let the grey waves
float in front of me. I picked a strong one and hoped my plan would
work.

I saw Jasper’s lips curl up slightly
just before they ran at me. I threw the wave down at the ground and
pushed myself into the air. It wasn’t until I was airborne that I
realized I hadn’t thought of how I would get down again. A branch
went by me and I grabbed at it, letting the wave go. I looked down
and laughed at the look on the men’s faces before I realized how
high up I was.

Jasper started to laugh. “Just how do
you plan on getting down, Shlova?”

“I hadn’t thought of that and you know
it!” I called down to him.

Brice shook his head to get rid of the
snow my little windstorm had gusted up.

“How about the three of you go on and
find Dodge’s stone and he can get me out of here when he has his
wings!” I looked toward the sound of running water and stared in
amazement.

On the side of the river that we were
on, we were still struggling through three feet of snow. Across the
river, the grass grew lush and was sprinkled with
flowers.

“When do we get to that side of the
river?” I called down to the others.

“Before it’s time to make camp if we
can get you out of that tree!” Jasper grinned up at me. The wind
picked up a bit and ruffled his dark brown curls.

Hello.

“What?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Jasper’s eyes
narrowed.

Stuck in a tree, I
see
. The voice chuckled.

“Did you say that?” I asked Brice even
though I knew it hadn’t been him.

He shook his head and looked around. “I
didn’t hear anything, either.”

Still in need of practice
with your greys. I could help get you down if you’d
like
. The voice was gruff, but
female.

I looked around, trying to pinpoint
where the voice was coming from.

I’m across the
river
.

I gazed in that direction and caught my
breath.

“What?” Jasper had felt my
shock.

“It’s a dragon!”

The dragon in question was standing on
all fours, facing us. Its wings were folded against its back. It
lowered its head at the sound of Jasper’s voice then raised it
again to look at me. The sun made its black scales shimmer with
blues and greens. Its red eyes looked into mine.

“Hayden, get down!”

I raised an eyebrow at him. It had to
be forty feet to the ground. “What does it matter if the dragon
kills me or I die hitting the ground?”

What makes you think I would
kill you? Don’t you think I would have done it by now had that been
my objective?

“You have a point.” I looked across the
river again. “Why didn’t you? I thought dragons were supposed to be
blood thirsty beasts?” I should have had to yell for her to hear
me, but she must have had great hearing.

The black eyelids closed and
laughter rang in my head.
I almost did.
You’re not at all what I had pictured. Thankfully you looked up
when I said hello.

“Hmm. Ok. So how do you propose to get
me out of this tree?”

“Hayden! What are you
doing?”

“She’s going to get me out of the
tree.”

Jasper’s eyes bugged out of his head.
“Are you crazy?”

Tell your mate all is fine.
A dragon would never dream of harming the Chosen One.

I looked down at my friends. “She said
not to worry. A dragon would never dream of harming the Chosen
One.” I wrinkled my nose at the title.

All three of them looked toward the
river. From their vantage point they couldn’t see the river or the
black creature.

She spread her wings and pushed up off
of the ground. The grass under her flattened with the force of the
air currents she was causing with her wings. She quickly flew over
the river, landed in the snow on the other side, and started to
walk toward us. The closer she got, the more impressive she
became.

“Don’t worry, you guys. I think she’s
nice.”

Dodge swished his tail.

Brice’s eyes were fixed on the black
form coming closer. “He said only you, Hayden.”

I grinned at them.

The dragon had stopped a few feet in
front them and they had to look up at her.

Both Jasper and the dragon looked up to
me at the same time. “What’s so amusing, Shlova?”

The black head turned to him
then back to me.
Yes. Please do fill us
in
.

“Ugh. Not you, too!” I glared at the
two of them.

Jasper looked up at the dragon and
smiled. “It can be very entertaining.”

I imagine so. Just the
realization of being stuck in the tree was quite
amusing
.

“She said she believes you,” I
grumbled. “And I was just thinking that you are a lot smaller than
what I thought dragons would be.”

She was about ten feet tall and at
least thirty feet from the end of her nose to the tip of her
tail.

I’m average size for a fire
dragon. So. Hayden, is it? I am Faren
.

“Nice to meet you, Faren.” I introduced
her to the rest.

She looked up at me and
cocked her head.
You’re a bit higher than I
thought. She looked down at Jasper. How is his balance?

I smiled. “He’s a cat.”

Faren seemed satisfied with
this answer.
Tell him he’ll need to put one
foot on my nose and the other on the top of my head. I’ll stand and
stretch up. You might have to let yourself drop down to
him.

Jasper did as he was told and stood on
Faren’s head, squatting like a surfer. She stood slowly onto her
hind legs and stretched up as far as she could. When she was done,
Jasper stood and looked up at me.

“There’s no way I’m jumping.” There was
still a good ten feet between Jasper and I.

“Look, Shlova. You got yourself up
here, now you have to come down.”

Your mate is right. You
can’t just stay up here. We actually don’t have much time to spare
before Ternach sniffs you out.

“Who’s Ternach?”

Jump and I’ll tell
you
.

“Hayden, saunt.” Jasper used his best
captain of the guard, you will follow my order, voice.

It was hard to ignore that voice. I
closed my eyes and jumped straight down. His arms wrapped around me
and I clung to him. I didn’t open my eyes until he set me on the
ground.

“We really should find you a sorceress
that can teach you a displacement spell,” Jasper was
laughing.

I turned red. “Ugh. The thought of
being dumped in the snow was too much.” I smiled at him. “I am so
tired of being cold. I had a dream that we were sleeping at home
last night.”

He hugged me to him. “I know. You felt
how you do when we fall asleep by the fireplace.”

What I would like to know is
why you have come here?

“Queen Melana has an order out to get
me to Pinsaber. I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to fight
anybody. We came to find Dodge’s stone. Jasper thought it might be
a good place to hide until things settled down around Sageden
again.”

The big black head shook
from side to side.
It’s not any safer for
you here. Ternach is looking for you. At least the Namael queen
doesn’t want you harmed. The Mother sent me to warn you. You must
not enter the Northern Regions. It is not safe.

I felt like someone had punched me in
the stomach. “Who is Ternach, and why does he want me
harmed?”

Two pairs of blue and one pair of brown
eyes narrowed and looked into the red pair that was looking at
me.

“Ternach is a myth.” Brice looked over
to Jasper.

“What is she saying?” demanded Jasper
impatiently.

I had to laugh. “Annoying isn’t
it?”

He is the Evertimeless and
he is definitely not a myth. He has been around since the start of
time and will still be here when time stops. The humans have been
giving gifts to ease his anger since they decided to colonize this
part of the land. It seems they are the ones who are not overly
fond of you. Ternach has agreed to capture you for additional
gifts.

“What does he look like?”

Everything and nothing. He
never looks the same way twice
.

“And why do the humans want
me?”

We don’t know. He won’t tell
us
.

I relayed all of this information to
the other three.

Dodge snorted and stamped a
foot.

Brice translated. “He wants to head
back to Sageden.”

“No. We’re here.” I put a hand on my
horse’s forehead. “You need to find your stone.”

Faren looked down at me then
over to Jasper.
Surely he loves you enough
to talk some sense into you.

I repeated this to him and was taken
aback when he started to laugh. We all stared at him, wondering
what had been so funny.

He grinned at me, gave me a kiss, still
laughing, and put an arm around my shoulder before turning back to
Faren. “I love her so much that I would trade my life for hers in
an instant if it came to that. I would live in pain for the rest of
my life if I had to.” He put his free hand in his pocket and I knew
he was feeling his cross gem, thinking of what it would feel like
to follow me to my other world. “I could tell her every minute of
every day that we are together and it wouldn’t come close to
letting her know how I feel.”

I was wondering where he was going with
this even if I did get a great feeling as he professed his feelings
for me to everyone.

He smiled at me. “I love Hayden because
of everything she is. She is a great healer. She is a caring
friend. She is a terrific aunt. She is my mate, my wife.” He gave
my shoulder a squeeze.

I looked up at him and saw that he was
about to start laughing again. “Everything that she has experienced
and done, that she has felt, is what makes her who she is; makes
her the one that I love. She is loving, loyal, fair, passionate and
trusting. And one of her most commanding traits is that she is
stubborn as hell.” He stopped my protest with a long kiss that left
me breathless. He looked up at Faren, his eyes laughing. “So do I
love her enough to talk some sense into her? I do. Do I think it’s
worth the headache when I know she’s already made up her mind?
No.”

I smiled up at him. “I told you. I’m
not stubborn.”

“I know, Shlova. You just know what you
want.” He looked at Faren again. “If I could, I would. But since I
can’t, and trust me, I’ve tried, then I stand by her side and keep
her safe.”

The wind picked up and he glanced at me
when I shivered. “So, Shlova, how about we get over that river so
you can be warm.”

“That sounds great.”

Where is the Winged One’s
gem?

I looked up at Faren. “In the steam
beds.”

She nodded.
Alright, let’s go then. The sooner he finds it,
the faster I can get you out of this area. If we’re lucky, Ternach
will never know you were here. She held a wing out and dropped onto
her knees. I’ll feel better if you ride me, Chosen
One
.

I looked up at her. “I’ll ride you if
you promise me two things.”

Yes?

“You have to promise to stay close to
these guys. No getting ahead, no whisking me away.”

Faren nodded.
And the second?

“Don’t call me the Chosen One. It’s not
something I want to be. It’s not something I’m going to be. I’m
just Hayden.”

Faren’s laughter chimed in
my head.
It’s not something you get to
choose. You are born who you are. Everyone has a destiny they are
fated to fulfill. Whether you wish to be the Chosen One or not,
that is who you are. You can run from what you don’t want to be,
Hayden, but I promise you this. It will eventually catch up to you.
It is what you were meant to do
.

I frowned. “And what exactly is it that
I’m supposed to do?”

That, I cannot help you
with. That is something you will have to find out on your
own.